The Foodist Endorses

It’s always seemed a bit silly to me that there are people who’ll spend $5 a pound for heirloom potatoes, $9 for four organic hot dogs, and $17 for two pounds of grass-fed ground beef then opt for the corn syrup-filled commercial brand of ketchup without hesitation. I should know because I’m one of them. And I bet I’m not alone. Tradition and habit die hard especially in the case of the holy trinity of condiments-ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard.

Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Heinz ketchup or Hellmann’s mayonnaise (my childhood would have suffered greatly without them). But once you taste the real-stuff, homemade with real ingredients, there’s no contest. This is the conclusion I reach every time I make my own mayo or ketchup or, as the case was a few weekends ago, breakout a bottle of June Taylor’sold-fashioned style tomato ketchup.

Based in Berkeley, California, Taylor’s small company produces amazing marmalades, conserves, fruit butters, and syrups. Her ketchup contains just four ingredients-organic tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and spices. No high fructose corn syrup or “natural” flavorings. The result is ketchup that taste like tomatoes with a slightly pureed texture. It’s not gloppy and pasty like the commercial brands. In other words, with her ketchup you don’t have to whack the bottle for five minutes before you start eating. At $12 for 11 ounces, it’s not cheap, but unlike the mass-brands, hers enhances the flavors of your organic, hormone-free, grass-fed burger rather than hide it.